Possessed
by Takahiro Kisaki
Summary: After Nobuyuki freed him from their uninvited adversary's clutches, there were only two painful options for Yukimura to decide; the death of his beloved brother or the decimation of the whole Takeda Clan that had been his and Nobuyuki's second family?
1. How It Started

Hiya, guys!

I've finally managed to make something up from my earlier draft list^^

This is something I got some years ago and I'm so glad I'm finally able to execute it now *dance*

Actually, I was going to post this a week prior, but a new idea crawled to my head, and thus, I recreated the whole story o.O, hence the long posting. And seriously, I didn't expect such little change could impact almost ninety percent of this fict!

This fic is related to my upcoming 'My Ninja Brother' and little bit Naruto AU-ish because I borrowed some of its vocabularies. Set after the first battle in Takeda Story—Battle of Kawanakajima, and AU where Nobuyuki and Yukimura could exorcist demons in ninja-ish way.

There's my short Author Note! ^^

Enjoy and review

* * *

In battlefield, there's nothing Sanada brothers wanted but to fight together in an uncanny harmony. With their respective weapon protectively crossed before their torso, they nonchalantly stood in their own threatening stances, facing dozens of men that were surrounding them in an asymmetric circle. Without having to pay simple glimpses, Nobuyuki could tell the smirk on Yukimura's face, along with fiery heat of his inner fire within his brown eyes, and the younger man could tell the same subtler smirk on his elder's face, along with the bone-shattering deadliness on his silvery grey eyes.

No need a genius to tell that 50 men held aghast towards the _two_ men before them. The exact two who had taken down their _150_ comrades with ease within ten minutes flat and Shingen's disciples didn't even break a sweat! Their weapons were shaking not so subtly in their trembling hands as they mused: so this was the famed Sanada Brothers. They really lived up to their names, the elder as the Silent Death and the younger as the Blazing Fire. Earlier, the soldiers had witnessed with their own eyes the astounding display of the brothers' prowess.

 _Nobuyuki moved between his enemies so quick that the moment they blinked, Nobuyuki had disappeared and in their next blink, he stroke right into his enemy's vital mobility points before striking their vital organs (or, in some cases, he would strike straight to the vital organs) so delicately, so swiftly that his enemies didn't have the time to gasp for their lives, giving them a torturous silent death. It was also said that the elder's silvery grey eyes were so cold that at one simple glance, they'd freeze their enemies' bodies before they could even think, allowing the elder Sanada to send them straight to death without leaving any traces._

 _As for the younger brother, he moved so fiery like a single blazing fire among men, every swing of his spear ignited his fire and as he advanced, he burnt his enemies in sight. His attacks were massive and effusive, like he was the living embodiment of fire himself. He spread his fire conspicuously to thread fear into his enemies with 'blazing fire' aura around his body that was also his fear-inducing source. It was said that his aura was so hot that in one simple glance, it'll burn his enemies' warrior courage into ashes, making them an easy target for him._

 _The elder was ice and the younger was fire; two very opposing elements working together to eliminate their enemies. It was a rather bizarre and breath taking view to see, since usually the ice would trap the fire within and smother it slowly and the fire would melt the ice and turn it into nothing but steam. But here they were, witnessing ice and fire combined their attacks in an astounding balance, creating a whole new level of prowess. What's even more interesting was that their ability to speak with even the simplest gesture; raised eyebrows, small sigh, and eye contacts, making them looked as if their minds were connected with an invisible line of thoughts that enabled them to complete each others' attacks without any words spoken. When the elder stroke first, he would first induce fear right into the hearts of their enemies with his cold frigid eyes, freezing them on spot while altogether cutting their major mobility muscles and joints, and then, the younger would incinerate their souls and finish the job with his blazing aura. Or, when the younger stroke first, he would make sure unresolved soldiers would lose their guts, leaving his brother to cast their souls in ice and shatter it into nothing and brought along death to their mortal bodies._

Back with the two…

A silent plan made, Nobuyuki and Yukimura lifted their weapons. As they stroke together, Nobuyuki spun his blade horizontally above his head for two seconds to ignite a whirlwind above his head. Then, the eldest Sanada brother hurtled his dual _katana_ diagonally to his left, sending a ten feet whirlwind to the twenty-five before him that at contact, hauled them inside it, twisting and cutting them to its top, once it's dissipated, those twenty-five _thumped!_ _,_ piling on the ground bleeding all over their bodies. While Yukimura, on the same time, leaped three feet off the ground, spear's blade facing down, as he was going down, he riveted his strength to it, and once he was one foot from the ground, he slammed his spear full power, quaking the ground before him so strong it cracked right on his spear's contact. Instantly, the other twenty-five were thrown of the ground, landing on a pile like his brother's bunch, with some ground cracks above and under them.

Seeing that they had no longer enemies in tow, both brothers closed the gap between their feet and without lowering their guard, they stood side by side, eyes planted to the land before them and its orange backdrop. The battlefield was littered with corpses, weapons and banners that were sticking on the ground. Though, there were some men who were still fighting far before them. However, the brothers didn't approach; those men could handle themselves. Now, that their objective was accomplished, it's time to report back to Shingen.

Both turned their backs and headed for Takeda Clan's main camp. Upon sighting a couple of distinctive two red dots in the distance, Yukimura stopped on his tracks and swiveled back, head turning right and left, looking for the odd eyes' presence that had disappeared the moment he looked for it again. He furrowed his brow. He was pretty sure that he had spotted a couple of red glowing eyes of a demon. Or, was it because he had seen too much blood? The younger of the two shook his head. That's absurd. He'd been in battlefield since he was sixteen and his eyes had been accustomed to blood ever since. He turned his head to the left and found Nobuyuki also stopped on his tracks, scrutinizing at the same direction. From what he had read from Nobuyuki's face, the elder brother also noticed what he noticed.

"Who do you think it is, Brother?"

"Frankly, I'm not certain, Yukimura." Somehow, Nobuyuki had a nasty feeling about this. Those dots were demon's eyes. And demons with fiendish red eyes _always_ end up possessing people. "Keep your head in the game, Yukimura. And don't let it unguarded." He warned cryptically to Yukimura and walked off to their lord's camp, leaving a confused Yukimura behind, who quickly stormed to his brother's side while wondering what he meant.

* * *

Later on, when both brothers entered the main camp's strategy quarters, a soldier was kneeling on one knee before Shingen Takeda, reporting about monstrosity that wiped out each a quarter of soldiers from both sides. From his slumped, defeated trembling back, and his shaky voice, Nobuyuki knew that something off the grid had happened and it _had to be connected_ with red eyes he and Yukimura had seen.

"Is there anything else?" Shingen asked calmly, although, if you look deeper within the mask, utter shock was crystal in his face.

The frightened soldier shook his head, "No, my lord. That is all."

With that, the soldier excused himself and went off of the tent, allowing the elderly leader shot his attention to his two disciples, mainly to the elder brother. Not that he's playing favoritism, it's just that…with Nobuyuki, he could discuss many things that even beyond stratagem, battle, and life. Also, he saw many similarities within the young adult to himself. And he didn't want the young adult to endure what he had endured.

Instead of calling their names, he stood and walked to them himself to a table in the tent's heart. The table's surface had the battlefield's map with tiny blocks on it; two red for Takeda were placed in the center of battlefield and in the northernmost spot, which was where the main camp set—and one blue for their opponent. There were also tiny cones with same coloration scattered around the map; these represent smaller number of army divisions. Two of them, one each color that was located near the forest's outermost border, caught Nobuyuki's attention. Those divisions must've been ones that soldier's reported seconds ago, he concluded.

" _SHINGEN… REVENGE!... WIPE THEM ALL!"_

That's how they moaned and yelled. The twenty years old recalled something and it all made sense. His heart skipped a beat and eyelids snapped open widely. He looked up to his lord who at the same time looked to him as well. Both of them grimly nodded. A silent agreement was made. As painful as it was, either Nobuyuki or Shingen had no choice.

"Yukimura," he called to his brother, who stood next to him, earning, "Yes, Brother?" from said young man whose body was now facing him, cross spear stood readily by his right side.

The older of the two turned his heel to face his younger brother. He stared right through Yukimura's eyes; commanding and sturdy seriousness and worry crystal in his eyes, and blatantly spoke, "Can I trust you?"

 _Huh?_ Was the first word his dumbstruck mind supplied. Did _his brother_ just ask that if he could _trust_ him? To normal people's ears, who never get to understand the length of their bonds, would've simply thought that Nobuyuki's question was obnoxiously bizarre. Period. However, Yukimura knew better than to jump into conclusions or listen to others' opinion. He just stared deeper and deeper into Nobuyuki's eyes and finally, a realization dawned at him.

"Oh," he baffled. Nobuyuki wasn't really asking if he could trust Yukimura. What he's _really_ asking was that _will_ Yukimura _do_ AS _he's told?_ Because if he screwed up, there would be some _heavy_ price they'd—particularly, Nobuyuki—have to pay afterwards. Deciding that this wasn't the time to doubt himself, he pushed aside his skepticism and drilled more self confidence into his soul and with steeled eyes and resolved guts, he replied, "Yes, Brother."

Nobuyuki nodded, "Good," he was satisfied. "Now," he gripped Yukimura's right shoulder tightly, "listen to me," he didn't budge his silvery grey pearls from Yukimura's hazel ones, "I need you to go and order everyone across the battlefield to return to their respective main camps, otherwise they'll end up possessed like those fifty we're about to face, and we don't need the demon becomes stronger than he is now," Nobuyuki reached into his pant's pocket. "Take my stallion and these," he handed three _shuriken_ to Yukimura, which the latter quizzically received.

"The battlefield is vast and we have to move fast," because Nobuyuki's midnight steed was a lot faster than his chestnut one. _D*mn, had I had asked Brother before I chose my own horse, I would've had a faster horse too,_ he grumbled. Then, he recalled perfectly how... (almost literally) back-breaking Nobuyuki's efforts to tame his horse and how _easy_ Yukimura's efforts were and they tamed their horses when they were twelve. While Nobuyuki's horse was a lot faster, he also _demanded_ respect from his soon-to-be-rider, and Yukimura's? Well, he and the boy practically had bonded in their first eye contact and Yukimura didn't even need to tame it at all. His wandering mind then switched their positions, had Yukimura stood in Nobuyuki's shoes... his spine shivered at the thought. _Ehh, on a second thought, I'm satisfied with my own horse._

"Before you advance, throw them into three distinctive _different_ directions of the battlefield. Make sure you don't go to either of directions, otherwise people will see two of you in the same place." Even without Nobuyuki's further explanations, Yukimura already knew what the elder's implications and shivered at the thought of seeing _another_ Yukimura right in front of him, concrete and alive, even when it's just a mere copy.

"And most importantly, I need you to herd the possessed soldiers together and restrain the demon fractions inside them so they won't multiply and possess other soldiers." Yukimura's heart skipped a beat at the tasks given to him. If both of them had been alone in their private sanctum, Yukimura's jaw would've dropped to the ground at the tasks' dubiousness.

 _You want ME to herd and contain them? Herding is one easy thing, but RESTRAINING them is another different matter altogether! You sure you want a rookie like me do such advanced techniques, Brother?_

As if he had written his musing all over his face, Nobuyuki gripped his shoulders and injected warmth and reassurance into his eyes, "I know you can do this, Yukimura." He supported, "all you have to do is to think cherished memories in your head and ignore everything the demon shoves at you." That easy? He really couldn't help but to wonder.

"No, it's not that easy, but it's that simple..." okay, right now Yukimura didn't know whether he should be grateful or got creep-ed out of his mind by the fact that Nobuyuki could probably read his mind. Regardless their connection and bond, it's still creepy as all hell... and comforting, in a sort of way he couldn't really fathom.

The twenty years old tightened his grips, eyes vehemently staring at his younger, "And I mean, ignore _everything_ he shoves at you, be it insults, taunts, challenges, whatever it is, just..." he stopped for a while and threaded the words carefully, "in this case, don't listen to your warrior's sense, Yukimura. _Trust me._ " The nineteen years old frowned visibly. _What the? Okay, now this is absolutely bizarre. How in the world I mustn't listen to my senses?_

But Yukimura knew better than to interrupt his unfinished brother, "This demon is a lost cause, and unlike us, he had lost his honor as a warrior and would do anything at cost to reach his goal. Even if he has to sink below our codes."

Incredulous, Yukimura made a mental note to ask Nobuyuki to explain things to him, when the battle's over, of course. Long story short, Nobuyuki gave Yukimura more elaborate instructions; as how to effectively keep his mind guarded, how to effectively herd and contain the demon's fractions so they wouldn't multiply and possess other poor soldiers. Also, the older of the two reminded his younger again NOT to fall into the demon's taunts. After sending the brunette on his mission, Nobuyuki gave him one (last? Why did he felt like it would be one? Oh, shut it, he shoved that thought away) strong protective and worried grip on the latter's retreating right shoulder, making him turned his back to Nobuyuki, saying, "Yes, Brother?"

In his eyes, Yukimura could see mixture emotions that he couldn't describe, but he was certain that Nobuyuki was very concern of him and wanted him to be _more_ careful on this task. Antsy as he was, Nobuyuki had no doubt in his eyes and that moment Yukimura knew that despite his past recklessness, Nobuyuki never doubted his seriousness. And somehow, despite his continuous self-doubting, the comfort, warmth, security, and encouragement he saw in his brother's eyes, were more than enough to assure himself that he's adequate for this task.

"Be careful, Yukimura. I'll be next to you when you need me." Yukimura firmly gripped Nobuyuki's hand that gripped his shoulder. Somehow, a smile managed to form itself on his face as he replied, "I will, Brother. And I trust that you always will be," with that, both released their hands, bade farewell to Shingen, and set off to respective missions, hoping that none would go wrong and after all of this were over, they'd be laying under their second favorite tree, half sleeping and enjoying each others' company in silence.

* * *

There!

Done is the first chapter!

Wait for my next updates, dear readers! ^^

Thanks a lot for your time and review!

See you in next update :D

Sincerely yours,

SanadaJoZhao


	2. Nobuyuki's Mission

Hiya guys!

I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry for updating so flipping late...

My life, dated since I posted this fic had uproariously sharp turns!

Long story short, after two months of doing _almost_ nothing, I finally get to _work_ and _college_ in the same time! By God's grace, I managed just fine and even still able to write until now!

I had planned to spartan this fic months ago, but, that time, when I stared at my laptop screen, God gave me a huge idea that made me literally rewrite my story from the second chapter.

And _voila!_ It's now finished and I present you the second chapter of 'Possessed'!

Happy reading and I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

 _Nobuyuki_

When Yukimura left the tent, Nobuyuki was still inside to share another silent eye-to-eye discussion with his surrogate father. Behind that thick mask, Nobuyuki saw consternation in the elder man's eyes. Like him, Shingen was also stunned by the presence of the uninvited third party within their ranks. For seconds that lasted like hours, both of them shared a look and then, Shingen nodded, agreeing with whatever Nobuyuki's proposing. Because currently, like it or not, that was their remaining option. The elder man knew well that he was powerless to take this matter to his hands and Shingen painfully acknowledged that the only thing he could to help his surrogate sons was by providing support from behind. Literally.

After one solemn parting bow to Shingen, Nobuyuki turned his back and moved his feet out. Three steps later, a stout and heavy palm clasped his left shoulder. Even without having to turn back and see its owner, Nobuyuki had already knew that it was Shingen's, but he turned back, nonetheless, because it was rude not to see the elders respectfully in the eyes when they're talking to you.

The way Shingen tightened his grip on the younger man's shoulder and how anxious his eyes were, Nobuyuki knew that now, he wasn't talking to his lord, the famed Tiger of Kai nor one of the most prominent figure in the Land of Rising Sun. But to his and Yukimura's concerned surrogate _father,_ the man who taught them warfare and things beyond that and the man who had raised them as if both brothers were his sons. Nobuyuki nodded and when Shingen let go of his grip, Nobuyuki left the tent, with a promise he intended to keep with all his strength.

With that, both men went on their tasks, as they had agreed in their silent conversation; Shingen to order his soldiers who were in the main camp and were completely oblivious of the uninvited third party, to pack up and once their comrades around the battlefield regrouped, they would make absolute haste back to Kai, with Nobuyuki guarding the rear.

 _Be careful, son. And please return alive._ _ **Both**_ _of you._

 _I will endeavor my best, father._

* * *

Instead of going to the entrance door, Nobuyuki went out the tent via backdoor. The backyard was less crowd full and it was a good place to summon an animal without arousing suspisciousness. Looking to the left and right, he found that no one was paying attention on him, they were busy with their own tasks at hands. Satisfied, Nobuyuki formed a set of seals. A cloud of white smoke _poof_ -ed next to Nobuyuki's shoulder and a red medium sized hawk emerged from it, wings spread and chest puffed proudly. The hawk revealed his sharp brownish eyes and bowed his head towards his master.

"What is it, Nobuyuki-sama?"

Nobuyuki looked to his summoned animal, "I need you to scout ahead of me. See that every single soldiers retreat to respective main camps." By 'see', Nobuyuki meant that Taka only needed to observe from above and report how the battle was going, instead of engaging himself in battle. Taka rose his head and nodded, "Understood, my lord." Then, silently, Taka shot up to the sky so high that from where he stood, Nobuyuki saw his (favorite) summon animal as a mere moving dot.

On his faster pace, Nobuyuki sped to the heart of battlefield and stood there, half expecting the enemy soldiers to recognize him and attack him on sight. But, the tattle tale of vague _'Retreat! Everyone, retreat! There's a demon among us!'_ in the distance made every single soldier that was fighting, ceased their weapon clashing, they _bowed_ to one another, and then fled to respective main camps in silence. As red garbed soldiers running past him, Nobuyuki looked to his surroundings, looking for any incapacitated soldiers who requires his assistance. However, the soldiers who were more physically capable, had had themselves supporting those in need. Knowing that his assistance was unrequired, Nobuyuki cast his glance back at the horizon, now looking for his younger's form.

After some minutes, all that he saw was all but spacious soil. Knowing that his younger must've been in the outermost borders, he connected his mind with Taka's.

" _Taka, has everyone reached their main camps?"_

Silence met his psychic.

Some seconds later though, a reply came, _"Yes, my lord. Only Yukimura and the possessed soldiers remained here."_

And before Nobuyuki had a chance to ask, Taka interrupted him, " _He's thirty meters from the northwestern border, my lord, and is caging the_ _last two of_ _demon's fractions as we speak." A pause, "Worry not, my lord, he is unharmed."_

Nobuyuki sighed in relief and amusement. Taka had been his summon animal for so long he could understand how Nobuyuki's mind work.

" _Good. Thank you for your service, you may be dismissed."_

" _Glad to be of service, my lord. I wish you luck on your duty."_ Taka sounded fond of his master and his protective (and almost mother-hen) nature for his younger brother. _"Until next time."_

Then, in his psychic, he felt Taka's presence smoked into nothing. Looking to the left and right once again, Nobuyuki gladly found that he was _obviously_ completely alone there. Actually, he needn't to do that since every single soldier had fled back to their homes, but still, it didn't stop his instinct from being paranoid. He formed another set of seals and shot his right arm upwards and a small tube-like transparent ray emerged from the center of his palm. When it reached thirty feet of height, it bloomed into a huge dome that coped the half of the battlefield, from where Nobuyuki stood to the northwest, where his brother was dealing with the demon. When its lips touched the ground, Nobuyuki lost his breath, his arm slumped to his side and his right knee buckled to the ground. Instinctively, his left palm planted itself to the ground, acting as a support for his body. His head was facing the ground and his temples down were drenched in sweat and his lungs were craving oxygen.

Covering a wide area of five kilometers radius with a force field shouldn't have been a big problem for a ninja of Nobuyuki's caliber. But when said force field was an indomitable _diamond_ dome, enhanced with some advanced attributes in its inward side, such as; nullifier—to prevent the demon from conjuring any fancy _jutsu_ (keyword: _fancy_ , because Nobuyuki _never_ created a dome that could be destroyed so easily by a feeble jutsu) that would undo Nobuyuki's dome and made his existence flashed out of the surface, which was _bad_ because people mustn't know that there were some souls that were still among them that could communicate with the living ones—cloaking, and sound proof attribute, so that their duel wouldn't attract anyone, the simple task simply went thrice demanding.

But it was worth it.

After gaining his breath, Nobuyuki stood and made another complex hand seals. At the final step, he felt a refreshing wave of energy surged from the top of his head to the tip of his toes that wholly thwarted the exhaustion in his body.

Then, with an inhuman speed he set onward to see his brother, hoping that he was in time to prevent the inevitable. In every step he took, the clearer the sight he had of Yukimura. His blood was pacing in a level that he could practically hear his heart beat within his ears. His head was rushed by probable 'what-ifs' that he dreaded the most. Despite the throbbing anxiety for the safety of his beloved younger brother, knowing how reckless Yukimura could be, Nobuyuki knew better than to underestimate the opposite of his element. Even being careless and less calculative, Yukimura has undeterred will of fire that cannot be easily doused even by Nobuyuki's famed ice. Albeit the younger had indeed fallen right into the enemy's trap, hell would freeze when the Blazing Fire stopped resisting to get out of his capturer's claws.

As he paced, Nobuyuki thought of what his precious little brother was enduring. The sanity twisting and brain washing realistic illusions that were kept being _ingested_ into his very own mind over and over and over again. The unbreakable urge to thwart all of the demon's illusion and the desire to kill the demon (minus his host) on sight for daring to intrude into his privacy and toy with his most cherished memories. It feels like someone was raking through his back with a huge pitchfork until his bones were exposed to naked eyes. And the protective brother that he was, Nobuyuki had wanted to intervene, fight in his younger's stance, and ordered the latter to quickly join their retreating army. But back then, when he was discussing with Shingen, if he had chosen to follow his brotherly instinct, Yukimura would have never truly discerned why someone should _never_ intervene an otherworldly business. Making a mental note, the silver haired young adult swore that within his power, he'd _never_ let Yukimura experience this ever again. Period.

As he shot to where Yukimura was as a blurry trail of dark blue, crimson red, and black, with eyes set only to one person that was now standing still some kilometers before him, he gritted his teeth and chanted, _'please don't'_ numerously in his head to deny the gut-pulling instinct in his head that was stating 'Yukimura getting possessed was ensured' since his younger dispatched himself for his task.

However, fate decided to disagree to his wish. Nobuyuki stopped his track when he was only three hundred meters away from Yukimura, his eyes widen in dread, and his body trembled in fear for his younger one. The _blazing fire_ energy that was his younger's signature energy, was completely extinguished and in its place was now…

' _No…'_

Black aura was consuming Yukimura's being like a cloud of wasps consuming its prey.

' _I'm too late…'_

Thick clouds fogged from Nobuyuki's lips and nostrils as he breathed. The air had suddenly dropped down some degrees as if in the coldest time in winter. No, this was not that kind of cold. This was cold of malice, death, and alike that made even the bravest of soldiers wail in pain. The cold that could solely be owned by a soul so old and vengeful that had avoided the grim ripper for far too long. This one soul was a lost cause that once found its desired host, would require a living and willing human sacrifice to be exorcised.

' _And that would be me, obviously'_ Nobuyuki deadpanned.

The aura was dimming into disappearance in complete silence, instead of followed by theatrical or _dramatic_ gust of wind that swept across the battlefield, thus knocking Nobuyuki onto the ground. Yukimura turned his body so that he was facing his elder brother. And finally, he opened his eyelids to reveal luminescence blood red eyes without irises or pupils, just blood red sclera, and smirked.

Now that Yukimura was facing him, Nobuyuki widened his eyes slightly to advance his sight without forming hand seals. Yukimura had completely transformed into a black silhouette with a blood red circle in where the heart was. There was a rage of black fire with purplish red tints on its tongues around the younger of the two. However, that's not what's pulling Nobuyuki's interest the most, but it was the blood red circle. It was beating. And in each beat, the circle grew bigger.

A threat.

Nobuyuki viewed that as a threat for himself that if he didn't quickly save Yukimura, the kind and reckless brother would turn akin to the demon that was possessing the person in question. If it happens, Yukimura would be beyond saving, even if Nobuyuki resorted into forbidden methods.

Without deactivating his Seeker's Eyes (ability to read someone's energy flow), Nobuyuki switched into offensive stance and put on a stoic mask, eyes fully focused on the opponent before him. There's no need to talk. Action was all he needed.

" **Long time no see, Silent Death."**

The dark red circle beat one more time and it grew one and a half time larger than before. If Nobuyuki didn't miscalculate, he only had a half hour to get his younger one exorcised before Yukimura was fully consumed by that circle.

Nobuyuki narrowed his eyes, refusing even to spare a thought for his adversary. Time is of the essence.

At Nobuyuki's silence, Yukimura chuckled rather evilly, **"Silent as usual, eh?"** he propped his spear and both of them sizzled into disappearance. Seconds later, they appeared again clashing their weapons only to disappear again.

And the fight of the day finally commenced.

* * *

Appeared… stuck in a deadlock… disappeared… slashing one another… appeared… slamming one another to the ground so hard that it created a crater or up to the dome's top so hard that the dome resonated… disappear… and sometimes, trails of blood drips into the ground.

Despite the heinous cold, both moved in a pace so fast that they appeared as nothing but blurs of colors. Nobuyuki as dark blue, while the demon as crimson bloody red.

When Nobuyuki's inner stopwatch reached the twentieth minute, they were clashing in a deadlock, puffs of clouds smoking out from their nostrils as they breathed and staring into each other's pearls; impassive yet unswerving silvery greys against glowing maleficent reds. The latter plastered an arrogant and satisfied smirk while the former kept his apathetic façade, despite the numerous injuries he'd taken from this bout and the cold that was slowly starting to bite his exposed hands, face, and neck. Yukimura on the other hand, sustained not even a scratch on his skin, because Nobuyuki, the kind brother that he was, couldn't hit his younger and decided to simply hold back.

Deciding that play time's enough, Nobuyuki infused his _chakra_ into his hands and pushed Yukimura's cross spear with his dual katana, throwing both himself and his opponent to the dome's walls in a quick shot of blur. In midair, Nobuyuki sizzled into disappearance and appeared again standing in an offensive stance on the ground. Heaving _so slightly_ to gain his breath, ignoring how rapid blood leaking from his injuries on his body that were consisted of; a rather deep cut from his left shoulder blade to his right waist and deep cuts near the tendons on his arms and legs. The ground where he stood was darkened several tones because of his blood.

His eyes kept their focus on Yukimura who was approaching in an almost light speed pace. Instead of preparing to counter his younger's coming assault, Nobuyuki straightened his back and solemnly closed his eyes.

It's now or never, he had to get the demon within his arms' range. And there's only one way to do it...

As his brother was merely ten meters from him, he dropped his dual katana so he could form a set of hand seals.

Five meters…

 _'Stone-fish sting'_

Two meters…

Nobuyuki held his breath and slumped his arms to his sides.

Zero…

A wave of hot pain split him from the left side to his back, just a nick of millimeters from above his left kidney and spine. His lips and chin, as well as his abdomen and back where Yukimura's spear blade stuck in and out quickly became a waterfall of blood. With his chakra amount now depleting so quickly as fast as how he was losing his blood, slowly but sure, he could already brush the unbearable pain and exhaustion coming from his body.

 _'I only have thirty percent chakra left'  
_

That amount wouldn't be enough to keep him unaffected by the pain and cold, and finishing his duty altogether. But for the sake of his brother, he had to get a stronger grip against the pain and focus his _chakra_ solely to his final task.

He kept his eyes closed and as fast as lightning, death-gripped Yukimura's right wrist to execute his petrifying _jutsu._ In the same second, he opened his eyes and stared right into Yukimura's eyes that were full of bafflement.

When he stare into those red eyes, he wanted to be furious, both to the demon for daring to possess Yukimura and to the younger brunette for letting his guard down. Regardless of his emotion, Nobuyuki knew he shouldn't. Anger would only fuel the demon and it wasn't Yukimura's fault that he was possessed. This was after all, an unpredictable battle. Without wasting another second, he used his other palm to smack his younger square in the chest, where the heart was. Under normal circumstances, his victim would've been propelled ten feet away, but _now_ , the opponent remained on where he stood, being petrified and all. He removed it from Yukimura's chest to fold his fingers except his index and middle finger, then swiftly tapped it right to the middle of Yukimura's forehead, between his eyebrows, to be specific. With that, a wave of overwhelming evil energy bit into his fingernails, crawling into his arms, shoulders, then to his chest like rats corroding every cell of his flesh. To prevent a howl of pain from his very throat, Nobuyuki clenched his teeth so fervently that might broke them into pieces.

The demon was resisting by literally tearing the subjugator's body from the inside to breach his mental defense. And Nobuyuki could already feel some sort of invisible strings trying to crack his skull open and embedded their roots into his brain to get in control. In the same time, his heart was being bitten in the inside and altogether being pierced by dozens of _senbon_ from the outside. As seconds passed, those _senbon_ also crept into his other vital organs, making him forcefully cough blood that he had tried so hard to swallow.

After torturing seconds that felt like hours of extraction, he managed to transmit the demon from Yukimura to his heart. That however, didn't make the cold disappear as its cause was still in the world of the living. Nobuyuki released his other hand that was holding Yukimura's to thaw his petrifying _jutsu_ and lowered his fingers from Yukimura's forehead. Afterwards, as he gasped for dear breath and closed his tired eyes, everything flowed in its normal speed and the last pieces of his high wall of pain tolerance crumbled into nothing.

His frostbitten and bloodied palm staggered its way to Yukimura's spear, right under its blade. He gripped it, ignoring his heart's furious beating as if to forbid him from doing what he's going to do. Nobuyuki took a step backward—which caused the injuries in his arms and legs to bleed more—and pushed his body from its tip. Blood profusely gushed from his lower left abdomen and back. His knees hit the ground and felt as if they were going to shatter into pieces. His mouth tasted like strong copper and blood was profusely leaking from his lips down to his chin. His vision was getting hazy and his senses was dulling. Nobuyuki knew that he shouldn't have pulled Yukimura's spear as it would kill him to blood loss in a count of minutes. But if he didn't, the first thing Yukimura would digest was the painful fact that he had impaled his older brother—despite that he did it out of his will, knowing Yukimura, he would still relentlessly blame himself—and that would throw Yukimura to wallow in self-guilt now and until who-knows-when. And having that was the least thing both of them needed right now.

Shaking his head, Nobuyuki's mind casted a jutsu using a little fraction from the last bit of his chakra that he reserved for emergency moments to sustain his body _a little longer_. He still has one more responsibility and he would not rest until it's fulfilled. And so, without bothering to wipe the torrent of blood between his lips—he didn't have the strength to— he stood on his knees to welcome his returning brother…

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